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Animals people eat

"Yes" means widely eaten, the kind of thing on a normal menu somewhere. "In places" means eaten in some countries or cultures, now or traditionally, but not widely, and the note says where.

This is a factual answer about the world, not a recommendation. Some animals marked "in places" are protected, and eating them is illegal in most of the world.

211 animals, A to Z.

Eaten: yes 84

• 🐾AgoutiCommonly hunted for food across its range.
• 🦙AlpacaMainly bred for wool, but in the Andes alpacas were also used for their meat.
• 🐟AnchovyEaten salted, canned or fried, and used in sauces; Peru's anchovy fishery is one of the largest in the world.
• 🐾AntelopeHunted for meat, and ancient Egyptians kept herds of gazelles and addax for it.
• 🐟BarracudaA popular food and game fish, usually eaten as fillets or steaks, though big ones can cause ciguatera poisoning.
• 🐟BassAn important food fish around the world, and a hugely popular sport fish in the US.
• 🦬BisonIt was the principal food of the Plains peoples of North America.
• 🐃BuffaloWidely hunted for bushmeat, and farmed on private land for meat and skins.
• 🐂BullMost male cattle are castrated and slaughtered for beef before they are three.
• 🐸BullfrogCommonly eaten across its range, especially in the southern US; people eat the legs.
• 🐫CamelKept as livestock for milk and meat as well as for work.
• 🐟CarpFarmed since Roman times, and spread across Europe as a food fish by monks.
• 🐟CatfishMany larger species are farmed or fished for food, such as Pangasius.
• 🐔ChickenMore than 50 billion are raised each year for meat, and laying hens can produce 300 eggs a year.
• 🐟CodOne of the most widely eaten fish.
• 🐮CowAbout 300 million cattle are slaughtered a year, supplying a quarter of the world's meat.
• 🦀CrabCrabs make up about 20% of the sea crustaceans caught or farmed for food.
• 🦞CrayfishEaten worldwide, though only a small part of the body is eaten.
• 🐾CuttlefishCaught for food in the Mediterranean, Asia and the English Channel; dried shredded cuttlefish is a snack in East Asia.
• 🦌DeerHunted for meat, and northern peoples herd reindeer for food, clothing and transport.
• 🐪DromedaryIts meat and milk support several North African peoples.
• 🦆DuckDomestic ducks, bred from the mallard, are raised for meat and eggs.
• 🐍EelFreshwater eels (unagi) and sea eels are popular in Japanese and Chinese cooking.
• 🐾ElandHunted and farmed for its meat; some southern African farmers have switched from cattle to eland because it suits the climate better.
• 🦌ElkHunted as game; its meat is leaner and higher in protein than beef or chicken.
• 🐾EmuEmus are farmed for meat, oil and leather in Australia, North America, Peru and China. Commercial farming began around 1970.
• 🐸FrogFrogs, especially their muscular hind legs, are eaten in many parts of the world.
• 🐾GazelleHunted as a food source.
• 🐐GoatAbout 440 million goats are slaughtered for meat each year worldwide.
• 🪿GooseDomestic geese are kept for their meat, eggs and down.
• 🦗GrasshopperGrasshoppers are eaten in countries such as Mexico and Indonesia.
• 🐾GrouseA game bird: hunters kill millions each year for food and sport.
• 🐹Guinea pigGuinea pigs, called cuy, are still raised for meat in the Andes of South America.
• 🐟HalibutHighly regarded as a food fish, but the Atlantic halibut is so overfished that Seafood Watch advises avoiding it.
• 🐇HareA prized game animal; its meat is said to be white and delicious.
• 🐾HartebeestA popular game animal because its meat is highly regarded.
• 🐟HerringA staple food since at least 3000 BC, often salted, smoked or pickled.
• 🐾ImpalaListed as a food source for people.
• 🦘KangarooWild kangaroos are shot for meat, which is valued for being low in fat, and they have always been an important food for Aboriginal Australians.
• 🐾KuduHunted for its meat, which is lean and similar to venison.
• 🐠LionfishEdible if prepared correctly; divers in Florida and Texas are encouraged to catch them for food to fight the invasion.
• 🦙LlamaUsed for meat and as a pack animal in the Andes since before Columbus.
• 🦞LobsterUsually boiled or steamed in the shell and eaten with butter and lemon.
• 🦗LocustEaten throughout history and considered a delicacy in many countries.
• 🦆MallardAn important game bird, and the ancestor of most domestic ducks raised for meat.
• 🐟MarlinCaught by commercial fishers, directly and as bycatch in tuna fisheries.
• 🫎MooseHunted across its range; in Sweden in 1983 moose made up 14% of all meat eaten.
• 🦌MuntjacIts low-fat meat is noted for its culinary qualities.
• 🐾MusselEaten by people, and blue mussels are farmed intensively.
• 🐾NyalaHunted as game; big-horned males are prized by sport hunters.
• 🐙OctopusEaten and considered a delicacy in many places, especially around the Mediterranean and in Asia.
• 🐾OryxA common game-ranch animal, hunted for meat, hide and horns.
• 🦤OstrichOstriches are farmed around the world for their meat, feathers and leather.
• 🐾OysterSome species are commonly eaten, and seen as a delicacy in places.
• 🐾PartridgePopular game birds, often reared in captivity and released for shooting.
• 🐾PheasantPheasants are a popular game bird, introduced to many countries to be shot by hunters.
• 🐷PigPork is the main reason pigs are kept, but eating it is forbidden in Islam and Judaism.
• 🐟PiranhaPopular as food, eaten by fishers and sold at market.
• 🐾PronghornOnce a principal food of Plains peoples, and still legally hunted for food in the western US.
• 🐾QuailMany larger species are farm-raised for meat and eggs, or hunted.
• 🐰RabbitHunted since the Stone Age and raised for food since at least the first century BC.
• 🦌ReindeerHerded and hunted by northern peoples for food, clothing and transport.
• 🐾RheaKept and bred on farms and ranches, like ostriches and emus.
• 🐟SailfishA hard-fighting game fish, but less valued than marlin and usually released.
• 🐟SalmonAn important food fish, farmed heavily; Norway is the biggest producer, then Chile.
• 🐾ScallopHighly prized as seafood, and some species are farmed; the part usually sold as "scallop" is the big adductor muscle.
• 🐾Sea cucumberA delicacy in Asian cuisines, sold as trepang, namako or bêche-de-mer; some species are farmed.
• 🐾Sea urchinIts roe is prized, especially in Japan, where uni sells for up to ¥40,000 a kilogram.
• 🐑SheepRaised for meat, milk, wool and hides in nearly every country; the meat is lamb or mutton.
• 🦐ShrimpOne of the most popular shellfish, widely caught or farmed.
• 🐾SilkwormThe pupae are eaten as a snack or dish in Korea (beondegi), China, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand and Assam in India.
• 🐌SnailEaten in many cultures and farmed for food in some places.
• 🐾SpringbokHunted as game and farmed; springbok meat is sold in South African supermarkets and exported.
• 🦑SquidSquid are caught for food by commercial fisheries in Japan, the Mediterranean, the Atlantic, the Pacific and elsewhere.
• 🐟SturgeonFished above all for caviar made from its eggs, and for its flesh; 19th-century overharvesting caused its collapse.
• 🐟SwordfishAn oily fish sold as food, and a record-breaking game fish.
• 🐟TroutA popular food fish, somewhat bonier than other salmonids.
• 🐟TunaFished extensively for food, and some species are threatened by overfishing.
• 🦃TurkeyIndustrial farming made it cheap meat; Native Americans ate wild turkeys and their eggs.
• 🐗WarthogValued for its meat, both locally and in city markets, and popular on game ranches.
• 🐗Wild boarA big-game animal for thousands of years, and the ancestor of domestic pigs.
• 🐾WildebeestTraditionally hunted for hides and meat, though the meat is coarse and tough.
• 🐂YakKept for milk, wool and meat, and some farmers' only meat through harsh winters.
• 🐂ZebuRaised for beef across the tropics; zebu breeds make up most of Brazil's beef cattle.

Eaten: in places 127

• 🐾AardvarkSome people hunt aardvarks for meat.
• 🐊AlligatorFarmed commercially for meat and skins.
• 🐍AnacondaLarge, semiaquatic boas of tropical South America.
• 🐜AntMany human cultures use ants in food, medicine and rituals.
• 🦊Arctic foxA small fox of the Arctic tundra with thick fur and a big, fluffy tail.
• 🦫ArmadilloNine-banded armadillos are hunted for meat in many rural areas.
• 🐾BabirusaWild pigs of Sulawesi and nearby Indonesian islands, also called deer-pigs.
• 🐒BaboonSix species of large, ground-dwelling monkeys with long, dog-like muzzles and powerful jaws.
• 🐾BarnacleGoose barnacles and the Chilean giant barnacle are fished and eaten.
• 🦇BatBats are eaten in parts of Asia and Africa and on some Pacific and Caribbean islands.
• 🦫BeaverBeavers have long been hunted for their fur, meat and castoreum, a scent-gland secretion once used in perfume, medicine and food flavouring.
• 🪲BeetleOver 300 species are eaten, mostly as larvae, such as mealworms and rhinoceros beetle grubs.
• 🐾BelugaIndigenous hunters in Canada, Greenland, Alaska and Russia are allowed to hunt belugas for food.
• 🐏Bighorn sheepNative Americans and early settlers prized its meat as the tastiest of American big game.
• 🐻Black bearHunted as a game animal in most of its range, partly for its meat and fat.
• 🐋Blue whaleProtected: trading its meat is illegal, though blue–fin hybrid meat has turned up in Japanese markets.
• 🐍Boa constrictorHunted for meat and skins, and a common sight in markets within its range.
• 🐾BongoHunted for its hide, horns and meat, and a common local source of bushmeat.
• 🐻Brown bearOnce used for meat and hides, but now hunted mainly as a trophy.
• 🐊CaimanHumans are their main predator, hunting caimans for their meat and skin.
• 🐾CapybaraCapybaras are hunted for their meat, hide and fat, and farmed in some areas.
• 🐛CaterpillarThe larval stage of butterflies and moths, built for eating and growing.
• 🐾CentipedeLarge centipedes are eaten in China, grilled on skewers or deep fried.
• 🐾ChamoisA popular game animal hunted for its meat.
• 🐾CicadaEaten in various parts of the world, including China, Myanmar, Malaysia, central Africa and parts of Mexico.
• 🐾CivetThe African civet is hunted for bushmeat.
• 🐾CoatiHunted for its meat in parts of its range.
• 🐍CobraKing cobras are poached and sold as bushmeat, turned into snake leather and used in traditional Chinese medicine.
• 🪳CockroachEaten in many places, though considered disgusting in the West.
• 🦗CricketEaten in Southeast Asia, where they are sold deep-fried in markets as snacks.
• 🐊CrocodileAboriginal Australians have hunted crocodiles and taken their eggs for food for thousands of years.
• 🐾Dik-dikHunted locally, mostly with snares, for its hide and bones.
• 🐾DodoSailors ate it, though early Dutch accounts do not agree on how good it tasted.
• 🐶DogEating dog is taboo in most of the world, but dog meat is still eaten in some East Asian countries, including China, Vietnam and Korea.
• 🐬DolphinDolphin meat is eaten in a few countries, including Japan and Peru.
• 🫏DonkeyA few donkeys are raised for meat or milk; about 3.5 million donkeys and mules are slaughtered for meat each year.
• 🐾DormouseThe edible dormouse was a delicacy in ancient Rome, served as a starter or dipped in honey.
• 🐾DugongHunted for thousands of years for meat and oil, and traditional hunting still matters culturally.
• 🐾EchidnaThe rare long-beaked echidnas of New Guinea are hunted for food.
• 🦇Fruit batKilled and eaten as bushmeat across its range, especially in Asia.
• 🦀Ghost crabA pale, box-bodied crab of tropical and subtropical sandy beaches worldwide, with long, thick eyestalks and one claw bigger than the other.
• 🦧GibbonSometimes hunted by villagers for food.
• 🐻Grizzly bearBrown bears, grizzlies included, were once used for meat, but are now hunted mainly as trophies.
• 🐾GroundhogA large ground squirrel, also called the woodchuck, and the only lowland marmot.
• 🐾GuanacoA wild camelid of South America and the ancestor of the domestic llama.
• 🐾HagfishRarely eaten in most of the world, but valued in South Korea, where it is grilled or stir-fried; one species is also eaten in Japan.
• 🦔HedgehogEaten in ancient Egypt and medieval Europe, and still eaten by some Romani communities.
• 🐝HornetIn some Japanese mountain villages, Asian giant hornet larvae are a fried delicacy.
• 🐴HorseHorse meat is eaten in many parts of the world. About 5 million horses are slaughtered for meat each year.
• 🐾Horseshoe crabEaten as a delicacy in parts of Asia; in the United States it is caught for fishing bait and for its blood.
• 🐒Howler monkeyFifteen species of large New World monkeys, the most widespread primate genus in the Neotropics.
• 🐋Humpback whaleA baleen whale with very long flippers and knobbly bumps on its head, famous for breaching and for the long, complex songs males sing.
• 🐾IbexOften hunted for its meat, with other parts used in medicine.
• 🦎IguanaIguana meat is traditional in Mexico and Central America and also eaten in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. The eggs are eaten in places too.
• 🐾IndriMany Malagasy taboos (fady) protect it, but it is still hunted and in some regions its meat is prized.
• 🪼JellyfishSome jellyfish are eaten, pressed and salted, as a delicacy in some Asian countries.
• 🐾KatydidSome species are eaten, such as the nsenene of Uganda and neighbouring areas.
• 🐾KrillHarvested as food for people and livestock since at least the 1800s.
• 🦧LemurRing-tailed lemurs are hunted locally for bushmeat, one reason they’re endangered.
• 🐾LimpetEaten in Portugal (lapas) and Asturias in Spain; in Ireland it was famine food, so tough it had to be boiled or roasted thoroughly.
• 🦎LizardGreen iguanas are eaten in Central America, and spiny-tailed lizards in Africa.
• 🐾LungfishSix species of air-breathing freshwater fish in Africa, South America and Australia, the closest living relatives of land vertebrates.
• 🐒MacaqueA genus of 23 species of sturdy, social monkeys.
• 🐾ManateeThree species of large, slow, fully aquatic plant-eating mammals, sometimes called sea cows, with paddle-shaped tails.
• 🐒MandrillHunted for bushmeat, one of the biggest threats to it.
• 🐾Manta rayCaught for meat and products; the flesh is edible but thought less tasty than other fish.
• 🐾Mantis shrimpEaten in Japan (as shako sushi), Vietnam, southern China, the Philippines, Kiribati and around the Mediterranean.
• 🐾MarkhorPoached for food and for its horns, which some believe have medicinal properties.
• 🐾MarmotAlpine marmots were once widely hunted for food.
• 🐾MayflyEaten in several cultures: pressed into kungu cakes in Malawi, collected around Lake Victoria, and eaten in parts of China and Japan.
• 🦎Monitor lizardSome peoples in India, Nepal, the Philippines, Australia and Africa eat their meat, and in Vietnam and Thailand it is a delicacy.
• 🐵MonkeyMonkeys are eaten as bushmeat in parts of Africa, and monkey brains are eaten as a delicacy in parts of South Asia, Africa and China.
• 🐾Moray eelSome big morays carry toxins that cause ciguatera poisoning, so they are not recommended to eat.
• 🦋MothSome caterpillars, the larvae of moths and butterflies, are eaten by people.
• 🐐Mountain goatHunted, with food listed among its uses to people.
• 🐾MuleA hybrid of a male donkey and a female horse, and more common than the hinny, the reverse cross.
• 🐾MuskoxRarely farmed for meat; the muskox farms in Alaska raise it mainly for its wool.
• 🐾MuskratEaten in parts of North America; in south-east Michigan Catholics are allowed to eat it on Lenten Fridays.
• 🐾NarwhalThe Inuit have hunted narwhals for meat and ivory for thousands of years, and still do under regulation.
• 🐀OpossumHunted for sport and food, and some believe its meat has healing properties.
• 🦔PangolinPangolins are poached for their meat and for their scales, which are used in traditional medicine.
• 🐠ParrotfishLarger species are fished commercially, mainly in the Indo-Pacific, but most species are not heavily fished.
• 🦚PeacockPeafowl and their eggs have been eaten, notably at medieval feasts.
• 🐦PigeonHunted and eaten as a game bird in many countries.
• 🐴PonyA type of small horse, with a thicker coat, mane and tail, shorter legs, heavier bones and a wider body than larger horses.
• 🦔PorcupineIn Kenya, porcupines have become crop pests and are eaten as a delicacy.
• 🐾PorpoiseThe Inuit hunt harbour porpoises, and a drive hunt for Dall's porpoise continues in Japan.
• 🐡PufferfishIt is a delicacy in Japan (fugu), Korea and China, prepared only by specially trained chefs.
• 🐾PuffinCoastal peoples once took young puffins from their nests to eat.
• 🐍PythonPythons are sold and eaten as meat, and poached for their skins.
• 🦝RaccoonEaten in some areas, and hunted mostly for fur.
• 🐾Raccoon dogEaten in Japan, where its fur is also used for calligraphy brushes.
• 🐀RatRat meat is taboo in some cultures but a dietary staple in others.
• 🐍RattlesnakeEaten in places, and said to taste "just like chicken".
• 🐾SaigaHunted for meat, which is compared to lamb; hunting reopened in Kazakhstan in 2025.
• 🐾SawfishHunted for its fins, used in shark fin soup, and for its teeth and saw in traditional medicine.
• 🦂ScorpionEaten in West Africa, Myanmar and East Asia; fried scorpion is a tradition in Shandong, China.
• 🐾Sea anemoneEaten in a few places, such as a curry soup in parts of Thailand and in Zhejiang, China.
• 🦭Sea lionSeals and sea lions are hunted for meat and blubber; California sea lions were once hunted for hides and animal feed.
• 🐢Sea turtleLong eaten as a delicacy, such as turtle soup in 1700s England, and still harvested for food in many places.
• 🐠SeahorseDried seahorses are widely used in traditional Chinese medicine, despite no clinical evidence that they work.
• 🦭SealArctic Indigenous peoples have traditionally used the meat, blubber and skin of seals.
• 🦈SharkSharks are caught for their meat and their fins.
• 🦥SlothSlow-moving tree mammals of Central and South American rainforests, named for their very low metabolism.
• 🐾SlugLand gastropods with no shell, or only a tiny internal one.
• 🐍SnakeSome are: boa constrictors are hunted for meat and sold in markets.
• 🐋Sperm whaleThe largest toothed whale and the largest toothed predator.
• 🕷️SpiderCooked tarantulas are a delicacy in Cambodia.
• 🐒Spider monkeyWidely hunted for food because of its size, and gone from many easy-to-reach areas.
• 🐿️SquirrelGrey squirrels fed Native Americans and colonists and are still eaten; Mississippi harvests 2.5 million a year.
• 🐾StarfishMostly collected as curios, but eaten in some cultures.
• 🐾StingrayRays are edible, and stingray dishes are found on coasts worldwide.
• 🐾StonefishA delicacy in parts of Asia once the venomous spines are removed; heat breaks the venom down.
• 🐾TapirHunting for meat and hides has greatly reduced its numbers.
• 🕷️TarantulaTarantulas are eaten as a delicacy in places such as Venezuela and Cambodia, roasted over a fire to remove the bristles.
• 🐾TenrecEaten by some people on Mauritius and Mayotte, where the tailless tenrec was introduced.
• 🐾TermiteEaten in some cultures; winged alates are high in fat and protein, and queens are regarded as a delicacy.
• 🐢TerrapinThe diamondback was a gourmet delicacy in the early 1900s and was hunted almost to extinction.
• 🐢TortoiseHermann's tortoises are eaten in some Asian countries, and turtles in general are hunted for meat.
• 🐢TurtleHunted for meat, traditional medicine and shells.
• 🐒Vervet monkeyAn African monkey with a black face and grey body hair, living in groups of 10 to 70.
• 🦘WallabyHunted for meat and fur.
• 🦭WalrusIndigenous Arctic peoples have long hunted walruses for meat, fat, skin, tusks and bone.
• 🐳WhaleArctic Indigenous peoples have traditionally eaten whale meat and blubber.
• 🐨WombatOnce Aboriginal bush food, and wombat stew was an Australian dish; it is now protected.
• 🪱WormEarthworms are soil-dwelling annelids, among nature’s most important recyclers of dead plant matter.
• 🐠WrasseOver 600 species of often brightly coloured sea fish with thick lips.

How each answer is decided: How we answer. Every animal, in one list: All animals.